A Nova Scotia man has been found guilty in a car crash that killed two teenage boys in Tracadie in November 2011.

William Lionel Edmund Byron Fogarty appeared nervous as he entered the Antigonish courtroom through a side door Wednesday morning.

He was convicted of two counts each of dangerous driving causing death and impaired driving by drugs causing death in connection with the case.

Police say the 32-year-old Antigonish man was behind the wheel of his 2002 Crown Victoria when he collided with a 1994 Mustang along a curve on Highway 4 on Nov. 24, 2011.

The driver of the Mustang, 16-year-old Kory Mattie of Havre Boucher, was pronounced dead at the scene.

His friend and passenger, 17-year-old Nicholas Landry of Tracadie, died a short time later in hospital. Fogarty received minor injuries in the crash.

The families of the victims cried and hugged each other after the verdict was read.

“We can try to pick up the pieces and go on now, I guess,” says Jeannie Landry, Nico’s mother. “We’ll never have the boys back but at least we know it wasn’t their fault. They did the best they could.”

“You know, I had sleepless nights and, you know, it was quite hard actually,” says Nico’s father, Doug McKenna. “But I’m glad it turned out the way it did though.”

Kory’s mother, Debbie Green, says she was both shocked and overwhelmed when she heard the verdict.

“Just when you hear guilty on all charges, it was just a rush of relief and shock, even though it’s what you wanted,” she says.

During Fogarty’s trial, he told the court in a video statement that the car driven by the teens came in front of his vehicle and he had no time to react. The court also heard that Fogarty told police he’s a good driver.

But an RCMP accident reconstruction expert had previously testified that Fogarty’s vehicle appeared to have been travelling on the wrong side of the road and struck the other car as it swerved to the left in an attempt to avoid Fogarty’s vehicle.

Two witnesses also testified they each called police after they spotted Fogarty’s car driving erratically before the crash.

The court also heard that Fogarty had taken several drugs, including valium and methadone, before getting behind the wheel.

Crown attorney Allen Murray says the case is one of the first in Canada to receive a conviction of impaired driving by drugs causing death.

“There’s obviously a long history of impaired driving by alcohol and impaired driving causing death and bodily harm by alcohol…there weren’t a lot precedents for us to follow in this case,” says Murray.

The maximum sentence on two of the charges is 14 years, while Fogarty could face life in prison on the other two charges.

Fogarty is due back in court for sentencing on Sept. 25.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh